


Highly Unusual

by moodywitch (moodyvalentine)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-10 00:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18648901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moodyvalentine/pseuds/moodywitch
Summary: Vivienne Thompson was but a normal girl... until a certain magical quill wrote her name into a fateful book on her eighteenth birthday even though it should have been in said book many years prior.





	1. Highly Unusual | Prologue

"This is highly unusual," the old man who had yet to introduce himself remarked.

 _No shit!_ I thought to myself. Just a couple of moments ago I had been sitting in Maths class when my stupid book felt the need to somehow fling itself off my table. Naturally, my teacher had thought I'd thrown it -- which I certainly hadn't! And now, after having been sent to the headmaster's office, I was faced not with my headmaster but these two peculiar people in long cloaks. One of them an elderly man with long silver hair and an even longer beard, the other a woman wearing a pointed hat not unlike the one I had worn last Halloween. The expression on her face, cold and stern, told me not to speak my thoughts aloud but rather rephrase them. "I would say so."

"Have you ever exhibited signs of magic before today, Miss Thompson?" the woman spoke.

I blinked a couple of times before answering her. "Magic? What on Earth are you talking about?"

The two exchanged a look I couldn't quite read before the woman gave a curt nod.

"It appears you have much to learn," the man said before finally introducing himself. "Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Well, that was a crapload of bullshit. Witchcraft and wizardry? Sure. Someone was clearly playing a practical joke on me... right?


	2. A Wild Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though she knows now that magic truly does exist, Vivienne has yet to come to terms with the fact that she is a witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this first chapter today, but I plan on updating this fic every Friday.

_"You were right," Albus said, pacing back and forth in his office. "The rumours are indeed true."_

_"What will you do about it?" Minerva asked, genuinely curious. Wise as she may have been, she would not have known what to do had she been in her friend’s situation._

_"Nothing," he simply replied and sat down at his desk, his eyes meeting hers. "I will not let a child’s ancestry get in the way of their education."_

_"With all due respect, she is not a child anymore. I wouldn’t even know what Year to put her in! She’s old enough to have graduated," Minerva said, trying her best not to let her anger shine through. Or maybe it wasn’t anger. Maybe it was worry – worry for her good friend, who she was afraid would let an enemy infiltrate Hogwarts, and worry for every student who might get caught in the cross-fire._

* * *

 It had only been three days since the strange pair had appeared in my headmaster's office and I had yet to come to terms with the fact that magic truly existed. Not only that but there was an entire world of witches and wizards that I'd never known about. And, apparently, I was part of that world. Because I was, in fact, a witch 

As hard as all that was to believe, I didn't have much of a choice. There was no _believing_ when there was irrefutable proof. There was only _knowing_. And I _knew_ that the old woman in witchy attire had transformed into a cat right in front of my eyes. Just like I knew that _I_ had launched my book across the classroom without touching it.

Why all that had to happen on my eighteenth birthday, I couldn't say. Neither could the witch and the wizard. According to them, I should have started exhibiting signs of magic when I was a toddler. And I should have started attending a school for witchcraft and wizardry at age eleven.

But since I hadn't, that's where I was headed now. No one knew exactly how that would work yet as they couldn't very well put me in Year One with a bunch of eleven-year-olds. But putting me in Years Seven, the last one, wasn't exactly an option, either. After all, I'd never had any kind of magical training before.

The two strangers -- my future teachers, it seemed -- urged me to ask my parents why they'd never taught me about magic. While I wouldn't have put it past them to keep something as huge as this from me -- after all, they hadn't told me I was adopted until two years ago -- I was quite certain they'd think I was insane. They clearly had no idea this magical world even existed. And, if they knew about it, they didn't care much for it. Either way, I didn't tell them where I was going when I packed my suitcase this morning. At least not the entire truth. I told them I'd been accepted into a student exchange programme that I'd applied to, making sure to drop the name _Hogwarts_ , which they didn't seem to recognise.

Naturally, they weren't thrilled. _Why had I done this behind their backs? Was I still mad at them for keeping the adoption-thing from me? What had they done to deserve this?_ I told them it wasn't for long; that I would be back by the end of the school year. Which I hoped was not a lie. I had no idea how long a school year at this magical school was. I assumed it was the same length as a normal one, right?

They begrudgingly agreed to let me go -- not that they'd had much of a choice in the matter. I was eighteen now, after all. Eighteen. I'd thought I'd be almost done with school by the time I turned eighteen. Only one year to go. And now I was told that I'd have to go to an entirely different school for a couple more years.

I probably could have said no. I probably could have just left the headmaster's office without hearing the wizards out, but I'd been too intrigued. I still was. Magic was real. And I could learn how to use it. Who would turn that down?

In any case, here I was now, at a seemingly abandoned bus stop, waiting for a gentleman by the name of Rubeus Hagrid to pick me up and take me to Hogwarts. Apparently, there was only one train I could have taken and it had left last Friday, only a couple of hours before I found out I would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so I would have to be taken there in another way. It didn't make a lot of sense to me that I couldn't just get there on another train that stopped nearby, but then again, I didn't really know anything about this magical world.

It had been a couple of hours since I got to the bus stop when I finally heard something: a loud roaring sound. I looked around but couldn't see anything -- until I looked up. That's when I saw a giant man on a giant motorcycle falling out of the sky, landing on the street in front of me.

"Vivienne Thompson," the giant man -- he must have been at least twice the size of an average human being -- asked, looking at me. Even knowing that magic existed, this seemed like a bit much.

"Are... are you a giant?" I asked, not even considering whether that might have been a rude question. Luckily, the man didn't seem to mind.

He laughed. "On'y half. I'm Hagrid. Dumbledore sent me ter pick yeh up an' give yeh this," he said and handed me an envelope.

It was very nice paper, I could tell, and sealed with an actual red wax seal. I opened it very carefully to reveal two pieces of paper. One was an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, signed by Professor McGonagall, the other was a list of... things... I was supposed to bring.

Robes, a pointed hat, a wand, a cauldron, a couple of magic books... "I don't have any of those things," I said, not knowing what else to say.

Hagrid laughed again. "Don' worry, we're gonna get those fer yeh. Hop on," he said, gesturing to the sidecar.

I hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if today was the day I'd die. A flying motorcycle? There was no way that was safe.

"What are yeh waitin' for?" he asked.

I shrugged, grabbed my stuff, and sat down in the surprisingly comfortable sidecar. It wasn't like I was going to turn back around and go home again. I just hoped I'd survive the ride.

Once I was settled in, we took off. I gripped the seat tightly and tried not to scream as we flew through the air at an incredibly fast speed.


	3. Shopping Spree!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to go shopping! After all, the new witch needs some magical supplies before she can attend a magical school.

I was relieved when Hagrid finally landed the motorcycle on Charing Cross Road, right in front of a building I'd never seen before. I should have, seeing as this wasn't the first time I was here, but I couldn't remember ever seeing it. It appeared to be a pub, called -- as a cauldron-shaped sign told me -- The Leaky Cauldron.

"Should I... even ask why you're taking me to a pub?" I asked the giant man as I stepped out of the sidecar. Maybe it was time for me to stop being confused and just accept things as they were. After all, I was almost certain that a giant -- sorry, half-giant -- taking me to a pub, that I swore hadn't been there merely months ago even though it looked ancient, wasn't the strangest thing that would happen today.

"You'll see," he laughed and put his hand on my back to usher me inside.

It was dark inside the pub, and everything looked very old and even a bit shabby. There was no question -- this pub had been here for ages.

Strange people were occupying the tables, many of them wearing pointy hats and robes like the two I'd met last Friday. It seemed this was common attire among wizards and for a moment, I was wondering if I'd have to change my style. Not that I was entirely opposed to it -- in fact, always having leaned towards more alternative and gothic-y styles, I might have even had some pieces that would fit in perfectly.

While being greeted by nearly everyone in the room, Hagrid marched straight towards a door in the back, pulling me along with him. The door led to a small courtyard that led nowhere and I, once again, wondered what we were even doing here. Hagrid was staring intently at the brick wall in front of him before lifting his umbrella and tapping one of the bricks three times with it.

I wanted to ask him what exactly he was doing, but before I could, the wall started shaking and a tiny hole appeared. It quickly expanded to a doorway, leading onto a cobbled street, lined with shops that seemed... curious, to say the least. Naturally, wizards had secret passageways. Of course. It made perfect sense.

"Come on, we've got lots ter buy for yeh," he said and not-so-gently pushed me through the archway. After he followed, the hole in the wall closed behind him.

"Yeh on'y have muggle money, don' yeh?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Muggle... money?"

"The money yeh use in the muggle world."

I didn't know what he was talking about. I'd never even heard the word muggle before. Or had I? Right, the old man, Dumbledore, had called my parents muggles. He'd never explained the term, though.

I took out my wallet to show Hagrid the money I had -- it wasn't all that much, but I'd taken all the money I had with me, seeing as I did expect I would have to get some supplies and who knew what else, seeing as I would be gone from home for quite a while.

"Yeah, muggle money. Gringott's it is, then," he said and led me to a large marble building, much bigger than all the surrounding shops.

We walked inside and, once again, I couldn't believe my eyes. The people who appeared to work there were less than half my size -- absolutely tiny -- and didn't look much like people at all.

"Goblins," Hagrid said as if that explained everything. It really didn't but, at this point, I was simply not going to ask any questions.

Hagrid led me up to a help desk and explained to the employee -- a goblin, apparently -- that I needed to exchange my muggle money for wizarding money.

The goblin eyed me carefully before asking me to give him the money. I hesitantly did and, after counting it, he disappeared for a moment before coming back with a small sack of gold, silver and bronze coins that looked ancient.

As we left the bank, I went through the list of things I needed again. Hagrid listened, nodding along, then led me to all the different shops.

Naturally, it was a strange experience entirely. We went to a shop that sold far too many styles of robes and cloaks to count, a bookstore that sold books with the most intriguing titles, and a place that sold various items that I could only describe as curiosities. 

After a little less than an hour, I had everything except for one thing -- a wand.

"Where do I find--"

"Ollivanders," Hagrid said, not even letting me finish. "The on'y place ter get yer wand."

I followed him inside a tiny, shabby-looking shop. An old man stood at the counter, smiling as we walked on. But his expression turned to confusion when he looked at me.

"You... I don't remember you. And I remember every wand I ever sold," the old man said. "I'm not becoming senile, am I?"

I shook my head. "I... uh... I'm here to get my first wand, actually," I said nervously.

"Your first wand? Forgive me, but you look like you should have--"

"Special circumstances," Hagrid interrupted the man. 

He nodded, clearly still confused, but then walked towards me to explain, "I'll be asking you a couple of questions, yes? Which is your wand arm?"

I had no idea but I assumed it was my right one, so I told him that. He nodded, then proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions that seemed to have nothing to do with anything. Nonetheless, I answered each of them truthfully.

He handed me wand after wand, asking more questions in-between. Some wands wouldn't do anything at all when I gave them a flick, making me doubt whether all of this was even real, but others needed only a simple flick of my wrist to release a burst of magic that made papers fly off the counters or wands fall off their shelves, scaring me in the process. After a while, the old man, Ollivander, seemed to be close to giving up, but he apparently had one last idea. He disappeared for a moment before coming back with a case, containing a wand made of a very light wood with a slight red shimmer.

"I'm not sure, but... try this one," he said and held the box out to me.

I gently lifted the wand out of its bed of fabric, immediately feeling... something. Without a doubt, this was the one. Ollivander recognised this, too.

"How peculiar," he said, unable to hide a smile. "Then again, a witch who only just gets her wand at your age... must be special in some way."

I didn't quite understand. "What's so special about this wand?"

"It's the first wand made of this wood I've sold in a long time," Ollivander said. "It's elder wood, dear."

I heard Hagrid let out a gasp behind me. Clearly, there was something I didn't know here. "And what does that mean?"

"Not many wizards find their perfect match in a wand made of elder. It's very rare, in fact," he said. "It may not mean anything, but I believe you're marked out for a special destiny."

Clearly, he must've gotten something wrong. Maybe he was truly becoming senile, mixing things up. "Oh. Okay," I simply said as he led me to the register, where I paid for my wand.

Hagrid asked about the core of the wand, which apparently was something called _Dragon Heartstring_. I knew better than to ask if it truly was an actual heartstring of an actual dragon. It probably was.

When we left the shop, I was still shaken up by Ollivander's reaction to my wand. _A special destiny._ I whole-heartedly hoped he was mistaken. The last thing I wanted was to be even more special than I, being the girl who only started showing signs of magic at eighteen, already was.

* * *

_The door to Albus' office flew open and a black-haired man entered, his cloak fluttering behind him in the wind his fast pace created._

_"You must have gone out of your mind," he said, not stopping before he reached the headmaster's desk._

_Albus didn't even lift his head. "Severus. So you've heard."_

_"I have. And I can't -- I cannot believe you would let someone who has been raised by muggles for so long into this school. An eighteen-year-old just now starting at Hogwarts? It's unheard of -- because it doesn't make any sense!" he said, his voice surprisingly calm even though he was furious._

_Finally putting down his quill and looking up at Professor Snape, Albus said, "It is of utmost importance that she learns to control her magic. I'm quite aware that this is... unorthodox, to say the least. But you must trust me, Severus."_

_"Trust you? Then tell me, how is it possible that this girl has been hidden from the magical world all this time? How is it possible that she's never done magic before? Who is she, Dumbledore?"_

_"That is not for you to know. All will be revealed in due time. Until then, you simply must trust that I know what I am doing."_


End file.
